Archives

The Seward County Community College/Area Technical School Board of Trustees met Monday in a special board meeting to close the 2008-09 school year.
The board hosted the Kansas Association of Community College Trustees and Presidents recently and the board was pleased with the attendance in southwest Kansas. SCCC/ATS Board Member Marvin Chance Jr. ended his leadership as head of the KACCT.
Dr. Duane Dunn, SCCC/ATS president, told the board that EduKan is considering expanding its services to other institutions, especially some of the technical colleges that need to offer some general education classes.
SCCC/ATS will submit a new performance agreement to the Kansas Board of Regents on a three-year cycle. The board will approve the final agreement in July and the agreement is due no later than July 19 to the board of regents.
Any new funding from the board of regents is based on the performance agreement. The college has been approved for 100 percent and the area technical school, which previously had its own agreement, was approved at 80 percent. This new agreement will address some activities specific to the area technical school.
The college must address target improvement for each of the three years. The four goals include using professional development activities for improved faculty and staff effectiveness; improving critical thinking, math and reading skills of students; expanding employment opportunities for career and technical education program completers and increasing participating of under represented students.
As part of a recent survey of technical school students, they indicated that they wanted help with job placement and advising. Both of these areas are addressed in the performance agreement.
In other action, the board
1. Hired Stephanie Christie, director of Adult Basic Education;
2. Approved Board Policy 427 on Missing Student Notification; and
3. Accepted the bid from Basic Energy of Liberal, Kansas in the amount of $18,000 for two used over the road diesel trucks for the Truck Driving program.
The next board meeting is Monday, July 6, 2009.

One of the top pitching recruits in the country Courtney Auger has signed to play at the University of Texas-El Paso next season for coaches James and Kathleen Rodriguez and the Miners. Auger was a two year standout for the Lady Saints while at Seward County shattering the schools All-Time strikeout record with 558 and taking over the top spot on the All-Time wins list with 46 and ERA list with a 1.51 in her career at Seward. She was the Jayhawk West Conference MVP in both seasons with the Lady Saints and also garnered Freshman of the Year honors in 2008. The Edmonton native was recently named 1st Team All-American by the NFCA and 3rd Team All-American by the NJCAA after leading the Lady Saints to their first ever NJCAA National Tournament and pitching them to a 7th place finish. She was also strongly considering Troy University but said she picked UTEP because of the professionalism of the program and the coaches. “They did things the right way down there. The coaches were upfront with me about everything and I feel like they will be very good coaches to play for” she said. Another main selling point for the Miners was the schedule that they play. “I have looked forward to playing against Pac 10 and Big 12 teams all my life” Auger said. She will now have the opportunity to do that as UTEP had perennial powers such as Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon, Texas, San Diego State, and Tennessee on their slate this season among others.

Seward County Community College/Area Technical School recently received a grant from the Kansas Department of Commerce for use in developing the Natural Gas Compressor Technician Program.
The funds in the amount of $90,000 are a part of the Workforce Solution Funds created by the Kansas Legislature in 2004. The grant money will be used to hire and train an instructor and renovate facilities on the area technical school site so the program can begin in fall 2010.
Susan Nickerson, regional director of the Kansas Works west region, was on campus to present the check. The Kansas Department of Commerce administers the Workforce Solutions Fund to help postsecondary workforce training institutions throughout the state respond more effectively to the workforce training needs of critical industries in Kansas. Funds are strategically invested into projects designed to enhance Kansas post-secondary institutions’ training services and/or training capacity for the benefit of Kansas companies.
“We are excited about the great industry support we have for this program,” said Dale Reed, associate dean of educational services. “The Petroleum Industry Education Committee is working closely with the college to help develop the program, hire an instructor and provide equipment for the program. The college has a long history working with the natural gas industry through the Gas Compressor and Measurement & Pipeline institutes.”
Other industry support includes Great Plains Gas Compression, Inc., DCP Midstream, Anadarko, J-W Operating Company, Stewart & Stevenson and BP America.
Dr. Duane Dunn, SCCC/ATS president, signs the grant from the Kansas Department of Commerce to help develop a Natural Gas Compressor Technician Program. From left are Dale Reed, associate dean of educational services; Chuck Lamberson, Kansas Manager Stewart & Stevenson, Reenie Jackson, SCCC/ATS director of business & industry; and Susan Nickerson, regional director of the Kansas Works west region.

Seward County Sophomore Bobby Doran has been selected in the 36th Round of the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Saints ace this season was taken with the 4th pick in the 36th Round and 1,075th overall in the draft. Doran who last week committed to Texas Tech University will now have the option of signing with the Pirates or choosing to stay in school and play for the Red Raiders next season. The signing deadline is August 15th, so the Bucs will have just over 2 months to get a deal done or the right-hander will head off to Lubbock and play for Tech. Doran was 10-3 for Seward this season posting a 2.59 ERA in 93 1/3 innings of work and led the Saints to a 2nd place finish at the Region VI Tournament, just one game from the 2009 NJCAA World Series.

After dancing for the SCCC Saintsations last season, Liberal native Erika Lamas will head to Southwestern College in Winfield as she made the Jinx Dance Team there and will join the team for the fall 2009 semester. Lamas danced one year for Head Coach Scarlette Diseker and the Saintsations after being named a UCA All-Star cheerleader and team captain while at Liberal High School.

Seward County Community College/Area Technical School Athletic Director Galen McSpadden has announced that six different Saints/Lady Saints athletic teams have qualified for the NJCAA Academic Team of the Year award. Women’s Basketball, Softball, Women’s Tennis, Volleyball, Men’s Tennis, and Baseball have all met the requirements to be in the running for this national award. To be nominated for this award teams must include all student-athletes who were on the eligibility list and completed the season with their respective team and include all classes with the exception of remedial classes, and must have above a 3.00 gpa as a team.
As well as the team awards that the SCCC/ATS teams qualified for, 10 different student-athletes have been nominated for Academic All-American awards. Volleyball player Ami Wang, Baseball players Bobby Doran and Corey Collins, and Women’s Basketball player Raegan Broadie will all be named NJCAA Academic All-American’s which they qualified for by accumulating between a 3.60 and 3.79 gpa throughout the academic year. Tennis players Ivan Michelli, Fabiola Wisnesky , and Juliana Boas, Women’s Basketball players Bailey Crandall and Karen Brown, and Baseball player Tanner Woods all earned themselves NJCAA Distinguished Academic All-American Honors as they compiled a gpa of 3.80 or above for this academic year.
Athletic Director Galen McSpadden said of the nominations, “I am extremely proud that six of our seven teams achieved NJCAA Academic Team of the Year recognition and happy for the 10 student-athletes that worked hard and find themselves as Academic All-Americans. As successful as our teams are on the court or field, awards like this show how dedicated the student-athletes and coaches are to maintaining the same level of excellence in the classroom.”
Results of the 2009 Spring Athletic Director’s Honor Roll will be out shortly.

Less than a month removed from narrowly missing the NJCAA World Series, four Seward County Saints Baseball players have signed on the dotted line to continue their baseball careers at four year universities.
Bobby Doran will head to Lubbock and join the Red Raiders of Texas Tech next season where he will play for coach Dan Spencer and a Tech team that finished 7th in the always tough Big 12 Conference last season. Doran finished the season 10-3 on the mound for the Saints and posted a 2.58 ERA in 92 1/3 innings of work. The big right hander from Flower Mound, Texas sparked interest from many division 1 schools and pro scouts near the end of the season when he pitched into the 9th inning of two Region VI playoff games, picking up wins in both contests. Doran chose Texas Tech over Clemson, New Mexico, and Louisiana-Lafayette among many others.
Doran’s partner in crime on the mound this season Corey Collins also made his college choice recently as the lanky righty from Littleton, Colorado will head to Mississippi State University next season where he will join a tradition rich Bulldogs team who has made 8 trips to the College World Series, most recently in 2007. Collins was ace 1b for the Saints in 2009 as he chalked up a 9-3 record and a 2.59 ERA in 75 2/3 innings on the mound this season. In two playoff starts and a relief appearance for the Saints in 2009 Collins threw 20 innings allowing just 3 runs and posting a 2-0 record. Collins picked the Diamond Dogs over Oklahoma State, North Carolina State, Southeast Missouri State, and many other division 1 schools. Travis Parker will remain in the Midwest as he will pack his bags for the Gateway City and join the Billikens of St. Louis University for next season. SLU plays in the Atlantic-10 Conference and posted their 3rd straight 30 win season in 2009 under 2nd year Head Coach Darin Hendrickson. Parker was everything the Saints could have wanted and more in his only season in Liberal as he batted .371 with 16 doubles, 9 home runs, and 54 RBI’s at the plate as well as setting an all-time school record on the mound with 12 saves and a team best 1.85 ERA. Parker’s two way performance brought him attention from Creighton, Southeast Missouri, and New Mexico among others before deciding on SLU.
Saints shortstop David Cruz has signed to play at NAIA national power Lubbock Christian University next season. Cruz will compete for a spot in the Chaps starting lineup as they look to defend their 2009 National Championship they captured just over a week ago. LCU finished this season 52-8 while winning their 2nd National Championship in school history. Cruz was a fixture up the middle for the Saints this season as the sophomore from Venezuela started 51 games at shortstop and recorded a team high 110 assists. The soft handed shortstop hit .321 for Seward County in 09’ blasting 2 home runs and driving in 23 runs.

Courtney Auger’s list of accolades at Seward County were capped off this week as she was named 1st Team All-American by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association and 3rd Team All-American by the National Junior College Athletic Association. After a solid freshman campaign and being named both Jayhawk West Conference Freshman of the Year and Most Valuable Player in 2008, Auger backed that up with yet another NJCAA Most Valuable Player sophomore season by helping the Lady Saints to a regular season conference title, a Region VI Tournament title, and a 7th place finish at the 2009 National Tournament. Auger led the Lady Saints to a 40-16 overall record this season while posting a 25-6 record in the circle for the gals in green and chalking up a 1.52 ERA and sending 265 batters back to the dugout via strikeout. Auger leaves Seward County as the All-Time leader in wins (46), strikeouts (558), and ERA (1.51), as well as finishing 2nd in winning percentage (.754, 46-15), games pitched (67), and innings pitched (380). Auger is currently in the process of deciding where she will attend and play next season.

The National Fastpitch Coaches Association has announced that two Seward County Lady Saint Softball players have been named to the All-West Region team for their performance on the diamond this season. Courtney Auger was named 1st Team All-West Region by the coaches while Marisa Coats was named 2nd Team All-West Region. Auger was named Jayhawk West Conference Player of the Year for the 2nd straight time this season while leading the Lady Saints to a 40-16 overall record and a 7th place finish at the 2009 National Tournament. She was 25-6 in the circle for the gals in green while posting a 1.52 ERA and sending 265 batters back to the dugout via strikeout. Auger leaves Seward County as the All-Time leader in wins (46), strikeouts (558), and ERA (1.51), as well as finishing 2nd in winning percentage (.754, 46-15), games pitched (67), and innings pitched (380). Auger’s battery mate Marisa Coats had a sensational freshman season for the Lady Saints and was chosen 2nd Team All-West Region for her play. Coats almost exclusively caught Auger this season and chalked up a .975 fielding percentage while leading the team in hitting (.432), hits (82), 2B (19), HR (6), and RBI (62). The freshman from Riverside posted an unheard of 1.095 OPS by combining a .637 slugging percentage with a .459 on base percentage throughout the season.
CLICK HERE for a complete listing of the 2009 NFCA All-Region Teams

For the third consecutive year, the Seward County Lady Saints Volleyball team has qualified for the AVCA team academic award. Although the final lists have yet to be announced, the Lady Saints have met the requirements of the award by achieving better than a 3.30 team GPA for the academic year. Last year the Lady Saints were one of just 354 of 3,000 eligible schools to win this prestigious award and one of just 15 NJCAA schools to capture the honor. In 2009 the Lady Saints placed four players on the President’s Honor Roll (4.0), nine to the Dean’s Honor Roll (3.5+), and 21 to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll (3.0+). “We stress to our girls to work just as hard in the classroom as they do on the court” Head Coach Bert Luallen said. “We are thankful to have the people and resources that we do here at SCCC/ATS to help make our student-athletes as successful as they can be academically and athletically. I am very proud of our players for their dedication and hard work in achieving this award. We will continue to strive towards our goal of a team academic national title for the upcoming year” he continued.

Chelsea Myers has decided to continue her volleyball and academic career at the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore next season after a stellar two year career at Seward County. Myers has signed her National Letter of Intent and will play for coach Don Metil and the Lady Hawks next season at UMES as they come off of back to back trips to the MEAC championship game in the past two seasons. Myers was the backbone of the Lady Saints 2nd place finish in the Jayhawk West this season as she played in every game of every match through the entire season. She led the team in assists with 1,200, while finishing 3rd in blocks with 68 and 3rd in digs with 424. Her 1,200 assists in 2008 places her 7th on the all-time single season list while her 2,102 career assists place her 3rd all-time and her 759 digs put her 4th. “ I’m excited about this opportunity to play at UMES next season” Myers said. “I really liked the campus and all of the coaches and people around the school were very nice when I went on my visit there” she continued. Myers won’t have an abundance of time to think about the move as her and her Lady Hawk teammates will open up their 2009 season in under three months.

NJCAA Men’s Region VI Director Randy Stange has announced that three Seward County Saints Baseball players have been named to the All-Region VI Baseball team this week. No team in the region had more selections than the Saints who placed third baseman Travis Parker and outfielder Mikel Huston on the first team list and pitcher Bobby Doran on the second team. Parker hit .371 with 9 home runs and 54 RBI’s for the Saints in 2009 while setting an all-time school record with 12 saves on the mound. Huston led the Saints in hitting at a .417 clip while lacing a team high 85 hits on the year including 13 doubles, 3 triples, 4 home runs, and 40 RBI’s. Doran, Seward’s workhorse in 09’ was named to the 2nd team after compiling a 10-3 record and sporting a 2.58 ERA in 92 1/3 innings pitched this season.
CLICK HERE for a complete list of the 2009 NJCAA All-Region VI team.

The Seward County Community College/Area Technical School Surgical Technology program has admitted new students to the fall 2009 class.
Incoming students for the 10-month program include Hermelinda Anguiano, Alma Granados, Joanne Oliphant, Lizeth Perez, all of Liberal; Brittany Coen, Elkhart; Mabon Maxey, Ulysses; and Jackie Silva, Dodge City.
The lecture portion of this program is online while the clinicals are in area health care facilities that are convenient for the student.
Carmen Sumner, coordinator, said she still has openings for the fall program. For information, call or email 620-417-1411 or carmen.sumner@sccc.edu or come by the Epworth Allied Health Education Center, 6th and Washington, Liberal, Kansas.

The Seward County Community College/Area Technical School Board of Trustees met Monday, June 1, to discuss budget reductions and requirements for the 2009-10 school year.
The Kansas Association of Community College Trustees and Presidents will be on the SCCC/ATS campus June 19-20 for a meeting. Representatives from the nineteen community colleges including administrators and trustees will convene to discuss policies, procedures, and student learning success. As part of the session, Gov. Mark Parkinson will participate in the meetings via interactive video.
Marvin Chance Jr., SCCC/ATS board member, and chair of the KACCT, said he is optimistic that the group will come together as a unified voice as community colleges across Kansas face continue budget cuts and challenges. “It’s time we look at things in a different perspective.”
Dr. Duane Dunn, SCCC/ATS president, presented a list from the Kansas Board of Regents outlining the status of the state budget for postsecondary education for the 2009-10 school year, including many reductions. Many of these reductions have a direct affect on SCCC/ATS and the other 18 Kansas Community Colleges. Already the college has returned over $170,000 to the state as part of the budget rescission. It is anticipated that FY2010 reductions could result in close to 20 percent reduction in state aid at SCCC/ATS as the funding distribution formula is applied to all community colleges.
As the college builds its 2009-10 budget, it is faced with a number of potential reductions in operating costs or anticipated increases.
These include
• Anticipated reduction in the state’s community college operating grant of $400,000,
• Anticipated reduction in post-secondary aid for the area technical school of $186,000,
• Reduction in technology grant and vocational capital outlay (ATS) grant of $14,000,
• Faculty salary increase of 3.75 percent or approximately $113,000 based on the two-year negotiated agreement established in 2008,
• Health insurance increase of 21 percent for an estimated total employee benefit cost of approximately $2.5 million.
The administration presented the board with a list of items the college could potentially cut from its budget to help offset the reduction in state aid and other expenditures. The college will consider changes in the well pay policy, professional development grants, travel, incidental expenses, supplemental contracts, hiring freeze, reduction in overload pay and adjunct contracts, reassignment of positions, reduction in capital equipment purchases and capital improvement projects.
The board also approved a 3.75 salary increase for all exempt employees (non-faculty). In addition, the board approved a 30-cent per hour increase for non-exempt employees.
In an effort to reduce current and future high cost investments in computer hardware, the board accepted a proposal from Nex-Tech of Hays in the amount of $87,360 and the Microsoft Virtual Environment Licensing from the Saints Bookstore in the amount of $5,000 to create virtual computer applications. Citrix is a virtual application that consists of hardware and software that would extend the life of hardware and allow software upgrades to be made at the server level versus the individual machine level. All applications can be run via the Citrix hardware/software and then distributed to the desktops that need the application software.
Mark Merrihew, director of information technology, told the board that the life of a computer could be extended for an additional six years. This summer the IT department will begin the virtual process on 48 computers in four labs. Merrihew also indicated the utilization of the virtual environment should result in a reduction of utility usage and cost, stating “this is a green concept as well as cost savings for equipment purchasing.”
As the budget planning process continues to be a challenge, the college will take a closer look at programs on campus that have consistently had low enrollment. Over the next three months the college will look at enrollment numbers, students who complete the program, students who are placed in jobs and students who transfer to four-year colleges and universities. Among the options are offering courses less often, offering more courses online, changing the time or day a class is offered, expanding marketing of these programs or changing the direction of the program.
The board accepted the program reviews for both the Surgical Technology and Accounting programs with the next review for each scheduled for five years.
Over the past five years the Surgical Technology program has transformed from “face-to-face” to an online format to decrease student travel and expenses. Lab and clinical experiences continue to be taught at the state-of-the-art skills lab at the Epworth Allied Health Education Center and at multiple clinical facilities in southwest Kansas and the Oklahoma Panhandle.
The greatest challenge is recruiting and retaining qualified students. The change in curriculum delivery has helped boost enrollment in not only the Surgical Technology program, but the Medical Laboratory Technician and the Respiratory Therapy programs as well.
With the addition of a two-year associate in applied science degree, the Accounting program offers a variety of degree options to meet the changing student population. In addition, the program is working closely with four-year universities to ensure curriculum alignment to ease the transition from SCCC/ATS a transfer university.
The college continues to move forward on developing its strategic plan, and Dunn reported that the college would focus on five areas, including technology, employee development, diversity, awareness and student learning. Dunn indicated the information obtained from the public focus group discussion indicate these are the five primary areas of which SCCC/ATS needs to focus resources and planning initiatives.
Ed Poley, director of the area technical school, told the board that the SWKTS Foundation would suspend all operations and donate its assets to the SCCC Development Foundation.
Ron Oliver, who was absent from the last meeting, was sworn in as a member of the board of trustees after being re-elected to the board.
In other action, the board
1. Hired Alison Chambers as the new Drama/Communications instructor; and Norman “Buddy” Smithson as the director of area technical school and division chair of industrial education;
2. Accepted the resignation of Molly Belt and Jessica Murphy, admissions coordinators;
3. Repealed Board Policy #516 regarding the Athletics Agents Act that no longer applies to Kansas Community Colleges;
4. Accepted the bid from Earles Engineering of Liberal in the amount of $16,481 to provide engineering services to rebuild the south and east parking lots at the area technical school; and
5. Reviewed a new policy #427 for later approval regarding Missing Student Notification.
The next special board meeting will be at 7:30 p.m., Monday, June 22 in the boardroom.